


Analogue

by Vipersweb (Rhianona)



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-10
Updated: 2008-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-10 12:30:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/99747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhianona/pseuds/Vipersweb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John uses his five senses to describe his relationship with Teyla</p>
            </blockquote>





	Analogue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [devinem27](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=devinem27).



> Disclaimer: [Insert Witty Comment here] SGA doesn't belong to me
> 
> Written for the John and Teyla Thingathon for devinem27, who asked for smell, touch, sight, taste.

It starts like this:

_Touch_

John isn't used to be touched. When he accepts Dr. Weir's invitation to join the Atlantis expedition, he figures it will be like Antarctica - except maybe warmer. He knows the only reason he's been asked to go is this gene he has. Sumner certainly doesn't want him around and Dr. Weir is more excited by the possibilities his strong gene expression might mean for the success of the expedition than the reason for his exile to McMurdo. And even though he wouldn't change a damned thing, he does wonder what it would be like if he had been chosen for _who_ he is and not _what_ he is.

Then they get to Pegasus and things go to hell in a hand basket and suddenly John finds himself in charge of the expedition's military contingent and the safety of expedition. It's all rather overwhelming, though he can't help but think of the irony that has left him one of the leaders of Atlantis when he is supposed to be nothing more than a glorified light switch. He would laugh but is afraid that if he starts, he won't stop. Wouldn't do to frighten the scientists.

He holds himself aloof, stiffly accepting Teyla's offer of friendship. (Perhaps she also offers absolution for waking an age old enemy years before their time. He doesn't trust enough to believe it though. This is just one more mistake he's made that will haunt him in his dreams.) Dr. Weir tries to encourage him and he smiles weakly even as Teyla speaks of alliance and friendship between their two peoples. This is his life now and he's not sure he's quite ready for it.

It takes some time but eventually John gets used to his new role on Atlantis. He handpicks his team and even though it might not make the most sense to co-opt the only other officer onto his team, he needs the experience Ford has in going through a gate. He figures once he's gained some experience and has a chance to give Ford some leadership skills, he'll cut him loose to head his own team and find a new fourth. Rodney is just brilliant and John also thinks of this as payback for all the demands the scientist had made on him back on Antarctica and still does. Choosing Teyla just makes sense to him; she's the leader of the Athosians and friendly and knows Pegasus well. She's also willing to help the expedition by introducing them to the Athosian trading partners.

Teyla, as he discovers, likes to touch. Oh nothing _obvious_ but just… a glancing of fingers on his arm as he passes her in the hall. That head thing she does. A hand up after she clobbers him while teaching him _bantos_ fighting. Steadying him as they climb over uneven terrain. Like he said… little things. He's also fairly certain she touches others. He doesn't understand what the big deal is - unless it's because she's a woman and alien (to Earth and the SGC) and he's not. He won't admit that he likes it; no one has really touched him since the disaster in Afghanistan. At first he allows it because he doesn't want her to think he sees something wrong with it; later he allows it because he doesn't want to prove Bates and the others likes him right - that the only reason Teyla is on his team is because they're sleeping together. And then it gradually grows into part of what defines them: Teyla touches him and he touches her and they get each other in ways no one else does.

He's long since stopped thinking about the way she touches him. By their third year on Atlantis, it's common place and it's not until Rodney makes a comment on how she's stopped touching everyone else but him and did he finally give in to her wiles that John thinks maybe the touching means something more.

_Sight_

By year two of the expedition, it has become a common sight for John and his team to eat their meals together. It has also been quite common for John and Teyla to practice stick fighting every morning in the gym. Scarcely anyone comments on it any more, in part because it is none of their business. The larger truth of course, is that by then team Sheppard has fought and bled and almost died for Atlantis too many times to begrudge them any type of relationship they might form. Besides, there are more important things to worry about than whether the military leader is sleeping with the pretty Athosian leader.

The irony in all this is that John and Teyla are just friends and teammate. Nothing more. John didn't have time to cultivate a relationship and even if he did, he didn't think Teyla had an interest in him. He knew her well enough to think she would give him _some_ indication that she might want something more than friendship from him. She certainly wasn't shy about expressing her opinion on a myriad of topics and didn't think that would cause her to act differently. And while he doesn't keep up with the gossip that circles the expedition, he's aware that Teyla has a had a few discrete affairs here and there.

When he steps through the Gate after the Ancients kick them out of Atlantis, his last sight of his beloved city is of Teyla. He can still feel the warmth of her breath on his face, the weight of her hands on his shoulders as they said goodbye. Later, when he's in the grey underground complex of the SGC and finding out his new assignment, he starts to wonder what he actually gave up by leaving Pegasus. Oh! He's more than aware that there was no way for him to remain in Pegasus, but he sometimes half dreams of what it would be like if he _could_.

It's not until he returns to Pegasus on a half-assed rescue plan and he sees Teyla (and Ronon) that he allows that half-formed dream to fully do so. The huge smile on her face as he comes into the light of the fire combined with the hug is a sight he never thought he would see again and it strikes him that he doesn't want to lose sight of her again.

But then he gets caught up in reorganizing Atlantis and whatever he thought when he first saw her again goes to the back of his mind. It's not until he's at an Athosian feast day and sees Teyla flirting with a visiting Hruthi man that he feels a pang in the vicinity of his heart. Teyla looks alive in a way he's only used to seeing when she's with him or the rest of the team. It's a bit disconcerting to see that smile aimed at another person. He forces a smile to his lips and avoids her the rest of the night.

The next morning she asks him how he enjoyed the feast and he smiles and says he missed it whilst in the Milky Way. She returns his smile with an ease he's come to love and comments that they had also missed the expedition during the six weeks it had been gone. He wonders if she means that she had missed _him_ but is too scared to ask. Instead he grins awkwardly and gets into the position to begin their sparring.

John loses himself in the rhythm of the exercise. He loves sparring with Teyla; she has a unique style all her own and nothing makes him laugh more than when marines new to Atlantis try to overpower her and she takes them down as if they were nothing more than a pesky fly. It's only after the soldiers have been there a while that he asks Ronon and Teyla to demonstrate their skill. Seeing the large Satedan warrior brought down by Teyla cements her reputation as highly capable.

Weeks later he nearly loses it when he sees Teyla looking so pale and helpless in her bed. He wants nothing more than to sit by her side until she wakes but duty keeps him from doing so. He has bombs to find to make sure what happened to her and the others doesn't happen again.

Later still, he watches as Teyla forces herself to stand by their side as they send Carson back to Earth to be buried in his beloved Scotland. He admires her strength even as he is relieved that she survived. He doesn't think he could stand it if she died.

_Smell_

Teyla has a unique smell. She smells of smoke and almonds and the sweet _pinipa_ fruit that they trade for with the Aruthians. He doesn't realize how used he is to the smell until he is forced back to Earth and all he smells is the sterility of the SGC. When they return to Pegasus and she embraces him, he inhales her scent and realizes he's home. He never realized how much he equated her unique scent with Pegasus and feelings of security and peace until that moment. He pushes it to the back of his mind though because they have a limited time to save Atlantis before Caldwell and the _Daedalus_ arrive.

After the disaster of the drilling platform he holds onto her and just breathes. They had almost lost her again, almost all died due to an ancient Wraith Queen stuck under the Atlantean ocean for centuries. He's pleasantly surprised when she returns his hug and just holds onto him. This was a little too close for comfort. When they return to Atlantis, the team as a whole gathers in one of the lounges and watch movies until the sun comes up. Teyla falls asleep, her head against his shoulder and he smells her fresh scent enveloping him. He joins her in slumber, a faint smile on his face.

He ignores the teasing he gets from Elizabeth and Lorne when they're found in the afternoon. Instead, later that evening he stumbles his way through an invitation to Teyla for a private meal together. He's tired of pretending he doesn't care for her more than as a teammate. Tired of worrying that the next big thing that happens will result in his or her death. He doesn't want any regrets.

She says yes and John smiles.

_Taste_

He licks a path down her neck, her hands twisting and pulling his hair as he circles and nips and sucks on a nipple. It tightens beneath his mouth and he feels her hips surge beneath him as his hand trails down her stomach to dip between her legs. He dips a finger into her cleft, circling her clit, teasing her, teasing him. He moves his mouth to her other breast and gives it the same treatment. Her legs twine with his and he revels at the feel of her silken limbs.

She presses her hands against his head, urging him lower and he happily complies. She tastes amazing, smells even better and he grins against the skin of her stomach as she squirms when he dips a tongue into her navel. He hears her call his name and it is one of the best things he's ever heard. He shifts his hands so that they hold her down as he settles between her thighs. He struggles to ignore his own arousal in favor of bringing her pleasure.

John's tongue swipes gently at her pussy, carefully licking up the moisture his fingers have already brought. He hums with contentment as he tastes her, smirks before taking her clit in his mouth and carefully suckles it. He shifts so he can insert a finger into her, carefully opening her to his touch for later. He loves how out of control he can drive her, loves the sounds she makes as she digs her heels into the mattress and lets him take her to the skies and beyond.

Eventually she decides enough is enough and she drags him up her body. She kisses him passionately, driving her tongue in and out of his mouth as she licks and sucks and bites the taste of her out of him. She tells him now and stop teasing and he grins as he carefully positions himself to enter her body for the first time.

It feels better than he expected and he gasps her name out even as her legs wrap around his hips, pulling her into him and her nails dig into his back as he head falls down onto her. He breathes her name as she breathes his and he knows he doesn't want to be anywhere else. This is where he belongs.

_The End_

This is how it ends: They keep their relationship secret for months; Ronon suspects and Rodney teases but no one says anything. They're found out after a particularly close call involving the Wraith and the Genii, who, while not working together - even the Genii won't stoop that low - have no compunction about using the other to destroy their common enemy. They both almost die and it is with sheer relief that John runs up to Teyla and kisses her deeply. She is alive and so is he and he doesn't want to hide in the shadows anymore.

Teyla likes to flirt with him, tease him to see how long it takes for him to stop blushing and drag her off to the nearest room and kiss her into submission. He's happy to comply. And despite some lingering worries, no one cares that he's sleeping with one of his team members. Lorne tells him that if Ronon and Rodney aren't complaining, it's none of their business. John just smiles; he's heard about the betting pool as to when they will wed.

Five years later, the Wraith are finally destroyed. Miraculously, Atlantis is still standing and Rodney and Ronon stand shoulder to shoulder with he and Teyla. As they watch that first sun rise he turns to Teyla and asks her to marry him. Her answering smile is all he needs. He holds her to him, breathes in her scent, relishes her touch and tastes his future on her lips. He figures as long as he can do that, he's home.

_Fin_


End file.
